At Last
by The Angel Of Sincerity
Summary: Sometimes the path we choose to follow forces our dreams in an unwarranted direction; and no matter how simple it seems to choose a loved one over this new path, it remains already decided - Sasuke x Sakura, ONESHOT


AUTHORS NOTE: Hi everyone, this is a variation of a one shot I posted on my DeviantART account (UchihaAkio) a few years ago. Please enjoy!

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The crunch of leaves pursued her as she ran wildly through the clearing, fumbling over larger roots of the grandfather trees. Her blood pumped wildly her fragile heart, it was all that kept her with the living. _They're gone, they're all gone! _Her mind screamed as she fought to control her breath as she remembered the sight of her fallen comrades.

Pain seared through her entire body as she felt her muscles in her upper left arm slice and tear open while her his weapon withdraw from her flesh; splattering her blood onto her left cheek as she looked back at her throbbing wound, her attacker reaching forward and grabbing hold of her slender waist in the process.

Pulling her close to him; his lips roughly worked over her own in a war of tongues, fierce, demanding and a most overwhelmingly desperate display of affection. His black hair tickled at her fresh cuts on her face; tears threatening to spill from her glassy jade eyes as she took in the reality of the situation; _that was the first kiss we shared and it's tainted…Sasuke-kun._ Biting down on his tongue she earned herself a few extra moments to jump backwards as he yelped in pain, blood flowing over his perfectly rounded lips as he emitted a low throaty growl. He hasn't been affected by what fate had dealt him; his flawless skin, his strong eyes and even his muscular build was no less impressive now than it was when he first left the village she noted bitterly as she looked a way for a second – only monitoring his movements in the corner of her eyesight as she tried to catch her breath.

Flicking the droplets of blood off his katana he smiled grimly; _I never wanted to do this, or even harm you in any way._ Lunging forward his hair flicked over his lifeless eyes;_ But I must achieve my goal. I'm sorry Sakura but I have no choice._

Sakura tripped over as panic grasped at her soul; scrambling onwards once more as unwanted tears streaming from her dulled jade eyes. Gasping for air she struggled onwards trying to buy time, but her blood loss due to her wound suddenly threatened to consume her and pull her into the darkness as she fell to the hard dry ground one last time. As long as she had her will; her mind…that promise, she would not…no …she could not die; not when there was still so much to be resolved with him.

Eyes slowly opening once more, his dark silhouette lurked over her; his impassive expression matching her own as she slowly reached for her last Kunai. In unison both blades rose followed by a numb sensation as his blood dripped upon her tacky skin. He coughed from above her, his blade completely off target as it lay down on the grass beside her. _What just happened? _ Her heart was racing in her chest, as she trembled, tears cascading down her bloodied cheeks, her chapped lips quivering as she reached to touch his wound. _It's too deep, God what did I do?!_

Smiling shakily down at her for a moment Sasuke lifted his left hand up to her face, poking her forehead, "I'm sorry Sakura, maybe next time we can be happy."

Lunging forward Sakura reached for his face, hiccupping as she cried; "No I'll make it better. We don't have to be their pawns Sasuke. I don't want to lose you," her lips trembled as she pulled away, pressing her forehead against his; "I can't lose you again!" Transferring her remaining chakra to her right hand she swiftly reached forward removing the kunai buried in his ribs and placing her hand over the wound attempting to heal his wound.

"N-No," he whispered as he tried to grabbed her hand; "You're too fatigued; stop." _Your life chakra! _Coughing he dropped his arms; his head resting heavily on her shoulders as the last conversation with Orochimaru rang through his head.

_**Orochimaru snickered to himself as he eyed Sasuke. "Our enemy has been training your old team mate Sakura she could become quite formidable in time just as Tsunade is. Your next mission is to take her out before she becomes a hassle; sever the final tie to that village;" he ordered as his eyes narrowed.**_

**Sasuke froze, emotionless for a few short moments. Rising to his feet he turned his back to his sensei; "and if I don't sever those ties now?"**

"_**Death," Orochimaru hissed as his tongue swooped beneath Sasuke's neck; the cold metal of the kunai it held pressing against his throat; "Make sure you do it as soon as possible or Itachi will be killed by me and your revenge will never occur."**__  
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"Sasuke!" came Sakura's shrill cry as she retracted her chakra from her hand and instead placed her fingers against his throat checking for a pulse only to find he had slipped into darkness. Her chest heaved as she vomited to her left side, eyes wide open in shock as she clutched on to his limp form. Trembling tears streamed down her cheeks; _What have I done? H-he, he's gone! _Looking over his shoulders she bit down onto her bottom lip, blood staining her white teeth; _How did I let her manipulate me like this? I killed the man that I love with all my heart!_

_**Sakura watched Tsunade carefully as she paced back and forth in her office. "Sakura we need you to go and meet Sasuke," she stated matter of factly, her eyes solemn as they took in the young konoichi's reaction.**_

**"What do you mean?" Sakura enquired, clearly confused.**

**"ANBU Black Ops have reported that he is heading to our village at this very moment; with Naruto out of action we need you to go with a squad of our Jounin to take the battle to him rather than let it occur within the village. You might be the only one who can get close enough to him to end this once and for all Sakura;" Tsunade explained as she sat back in her chair, her golden ponytails flowing over her broad shoulders. "Don't let him manipulate you Sakura and above all don't fail."**

_**Grabbing at the sides of her skirt nervously Sakura nodded; "Yes milady!"**_

Taking a haggard breath Sakura placed Sasuke on the ground gently. He took all of the others out effortlessly, he left me to last; he never intended to kill me as he did them. Flicking her head to the side her lips trembled, _and I stabbed him thinking he was trying to kill me. Now he's gone and I have to live with th-this horrific memory! I can't!_ Tears spilled from her eyes; "I can't live with that on my hands!" _All I ever wanted was to live out my days by his side!_

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small vile of purpled liquid. _I will follow you in death as I followed you in life Sasuke, please wait; I love you. _Shaking she lifted it to her lips the liquid filling her mouth, some spilling down her chin. Eyes shaking with fear she swallowed the liquid as she turned to Sasuke, laying down beside him as she pressed her eyes shut,_ now we have a chance to be together at last._

Sometimes the path we choose to follow forces our dreams in an unwarranted direction; and no matter how simple it seems to choose a loved one over this new path, it remains already decided. In this endless dance of souls, our love is never the winning choice…it remains insignificant…unless we give it a chance to prove itself. So I guess some of us are unlucky and the only place we can be as one, the only place we can freely love our soulmate is in the heavens.

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If you enjoyed this fanfic please be sure to leave a review, I will be writing more oneshot SasuSaku fanfics in the coming weeks – they will be much more cheerful than this one though.

Please also be sure to check out my SasuSaku chapter story called "Snow Glare."

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!


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